Play

Players take turns, starting with Yellow. In each turn you choose
one of the following options:
- add a bird
- let the birds fly
An abstract game for 2 players by Dieter Stein
If no legal moves are available, pass your turn.
This game is dedicated to the nature and beauty of birds.
Their colors, their singing, and the art of flight. Add a Bird

The simplest mathematical models of animal aggregations
generally instruct the individual animals to follow three rules:
a) Move in the same direction as your neighbor
b) Remain close to your neighbors
c) Avoid collisions with your neighbors
Place a single bird anywhere, but not adjacent to any other
friendly bird already on the board and not into a region
controlled by the opponent. Such a region has no open path
to any other friendly bird (see chapter “Regions” below).

from Wikipedia, Collective animal behavior

MATERIAL Figure 3 – Yellow may place a

bird anywhere but not
- Hexagonal board, with two sizes (small and standard), adjacent to a friendly bird or
into a region controlled by the
called the “sky” (without 6 corners and center space)
opponent.
- 100 playing pieces (50 yellow and 50 blue “birds”)

Figure 1 – The hexagonal board

(standard size: 120 line intersections,
dark and light-blue; small size: 84 line Let the Birds Fly
intersections, dark blue only).
A single bird or a line of birds move in a straight line, over
vacant spaces and must always stop next to another friendly
bird and in this way enlarge one or more other flocks. (A
single bird can also be referred to as a “flock”.)
PREPARATION
You may never split an existing flock.
In the following the rules for the standard size of the board
are given. The rules for the smaller size can be applied
accordingly.

Each player takes all birds of one color and adds 3 of them to Figure 4 – The marked
the board according to the following figure. yellow bird has 8 moves.
Note that the bird may pass
friendly birds while flying as
long as the final stop is
adjacent to another flock.
Figure 2 – Initial setup; place
the first 3 birds in their
“nests”. For the small size
board inset them just one
intersection towards the
center.
A straight line of any number of birds of one color may fly in file
or side by side.

OBJECTIVE Figure 5 – The marked flock

of 3 birds has 5 moves:
The aim of the game seems simple: Bring all of your birds in either 2 or 3 steps to the
upper left creating a flock of
the sky together into one contiguous flock.
4 or 5, or to the lower left
flying in single file
Yet the flight of the birds is not that simple. You must add new connecting to a single bird.
birds to the sky to let them fly together and this is where the Opponent birds block all
competition unfolds. other moves.

Volo – Rules (c) 2010 Dieter Stein. Rule book (c) 2012 Dieter Stein and Néstor Romeral Andrés.
You may rearrange an existing flock if it is not split and also If no action is possible you must pass your turn. If however,
enlarged after the move. birds could possibly be added, but only in regions of your own
then you may pass your turn. If both players pass their turn, the
game ends in a draw.

Figure 6 – The yellow flock

has only one move. It cannot Figure 9 – In this situation both
be split. But it can be players have no moves
rearranged as long as it grew available. They could add birds,
larger after the move. but only in their own regions
(marked red and yellow). Here
both players pass their turns
and the game ends in a draw.

Regions

If a player’s birds are separated from each other in different END OF THE GAME
regions, i. e. there exists no open path to any other friendly
bird, they are removed from the board – they fly away. “Open
You win by ending up with all your birds in one contiguous
path” means vacant spaces or spaces occupied only by friendly
flock of any size.
birds.

The player who made the move can choose which region must Figure 10 – Blue wins.
be cleared. It is possible that more than two regions are Note that the effect of regions is
created. Clear any of these regions but leave one region always secondary. If you
untouched. accomplish a winning formation
and simultaneously divide your
It is possible that the opponent is left with a single flock and the opponent’s birds into two or
game is lost immediately. more contiguous flocks, each in
one region, you win. There is
no need for you to clear any
Note that usually creating regions and removing birds is regions and thus create a
beneficial only for your opponent. winning position for your
opponent as well.

EXAMPLES
Figure 7 – Yellow created 3
regions A, B, and C and must
now choose 2 of them,
remove all birds there and Figure 11 – Yellow to move and
give them back to the must avoid the decisive move for
opponent player. In this Blue A to space 1, thus an yellow
example, if region B (with a bird enters at space 2. After that,
single bird) would remain on the blue bird B flies to space 3
the board, Blue would win the and Yellow cannot block the
game immediately. winning flight of Blue A to space 4
(see winning position above,
figure 10).

Figure 8 – Yellow removed all

birds in the regions A and B.
Figure 12 – Yellow to move and
win. Do you see how?

Pass

There may be a situation where you neither can (or want) to Find the solution here:
add a bird, nor let one of your flocks fly.
http://spielstein.com/games/volo/puzzles/1

Volo – Rules (c) 2010 Dieter Stein. Rule book (c) 2012 Dieter Stein and Néstor Romeral Andrés.